Yesterday on my monthly visit to the island of Kaua’i to teach organ students I met Noah Smith, the summer organ intern at All Saints Episcopal Church. Noah is here from May 29th to August 7th, primarily to play the Sunday 9:30 am services while the church’s Director of Music, Henry Adams Curtis, is on vacation. Noah is a senior at the University of Oklahoma and is a double major in both organ and piano.

Noah will also be giving two recitals; a solo recital on July 2 at 6 pm and another joint concert with his teacher, Adam Pajan, and Hank Curtis on July 13 also at 6 pm. Both concerts will be live-streamed on the church’s website.

But that’s not all! He will provide at least six 1.5 hour lessons on the organ to the church music director or others, and will provide organ encounters for interested groups of students.

In addition Noah will assist Shane Morris Wise with Maintenance and Tuning of the Rosales organ. The University of Oklahoma is the only accredited University program in the entire country where students can immerse themselves in the study of the History of and Technique of Organbuilding, which has been taught at OU for over a decade and continues on.

Morris Wise, the mover and shaker behind the pipe organ project at All Saints, sent me a “teaser” photo of himself with Noah and several others.

My first reaction? “Wow, he’s tall!”

After meeting Noah in person, I learned that this photo is a little misleading… but Noah is still tall at 6’7″. Morris made special blocks to raise the organ bench a couple of inches and surprisingly, Noah is able to play the organ without bumping his knees against the console.

My first question to him was, “When did you start organ lessons?” I was most surprised to learn that Noah only started lessons as a college freshman, a few years ago, but he’s always been interested in the organ.

And no wonder! Both his grandparents are professional organists — William and Yvonne Kuhlman. When I heard the name, I said to myself, “Wait … I know that name … didn’t he come to Hawaii?!” Yes, many years ago, I met Bill Kuhlman who probably came here because of the late Dale Noble, the long-time choral director of Kamehameha Schools, whose brother Weston Noble was at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa since 2005, and was best known for his 57-year tenure on the faculty as conductor of the Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005 and the Luther College Concert Band from 1948 to 1973.

William Kuhlman is Professor Emeritus of Luther College. “Critics have hailed organist William Kuhlman as “a world-class performer” whose playing “communicates musical purpose and excitement.” His passion for his art is reflected in a 38 year teaching and performing career that has spanned a broad range of activities, from concerts with the Dallas and Philadelphia Brass and Chicago Symphony Trumpeter Adolph Herseth, and solo recitals in the cathedrals of Trondheim, Rotterdam and Vienna, to publication in 2002 of his scholarly work in the national organ journals, The Diapason and The American Organist... He and his wife Yvonne are frequently heard as substitute organists at First Lutheran and Grace Episcopal Church in Decorah, Iowa. His degree work has been at St. Olaf College, Syracuse University, Eastman School of Music and Westminster Choir College. He retired from Luther in 2006 and lives in Tucson, AZ.

Noah said that his grandfather used to take him on personal “organ crawls,” tours to various organs, while he was growing up where he would try out his piano pieces. Unfortunately, there was no organ teacher where Noah grew up in Russellville, Arkansas, so now he’s making up for lost time.

Noah sees himself as a new generation of organists, embracing organ music of all periods, especially those of the Romantic period. He hopes to combine a church job with a concert organist career.